JEAN-LUC PONTY King Kong SCARCE ORIG UK 1969 EX LP. PLAYS & INCLUDES FRANK ZAPPA

	£		26
	$		34

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers will now be blocked at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: JEAN-LUC PONTY

Album Title: King Kong (plays the music of Frank Zappa).

Producer(s): Richard Bock.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: King Kong; Idiot Bastard Son; Twenty Small Cigars; How Would You Like to Have a Head Like That.

Side 2: Music for Electric Violin and Low-Budget Orchestra; America Drinks and Goes Home.

Label/Format: Liberty – original black format with matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only a very few light, fine and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. All evidence suggests very little played.

Cat Number: LBS 83375.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 127 grams. A very good weight for this record.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce: not a major seller with first issues being fairly hard to find.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: LBS 83375 A-1G / LBS 83375 B-1G [pressed by EMI]

Mother & Stamper Codes: 1 A / 1 R [the second and third in the stamper sequence]

Musicians: Jean-Luc Ponty – violin, electric violin, baritone violin; Frank Zappa – guitar; John Guerin – drums; Buell Neidlinger – bass; George Duke – piano; Art Tripp – drums; Ian Underwood – tenor sax; Ernie Watts – alto and tenor sax; Harold Bemko – cello; Donald Christlieb – bassoon; Gene Cipriano – English horn, oboe; Vincent DeRosa – French horn, descant; Gene Estes – percussion, vibraphone; Milton Thomas – viola.

Brief Info: French jazz violinist who had a spells with Frank Zappa’s band between 1969 and 1974. He featured prominately on the famous ‘Hot Rats’ album and here Zappa’s music gets the Ponty treatment. This hugely impressive set was recorded and issued in the same year as Zappa’s most famous album. Featuring other members of The Mothers of Invention and Frank himself plays guitar on ‘How Would You Like to Have a Head Like That’, ironically, the only non-Zappa composition, this written by Ponty himself. A wonderful set of complex music and this a very fine original. For fans of Zappa’s masterpiece ‘Hot Rats’, this is more of the same style as Ian Underwood, the master reedsman is also featured as is keyboard maestro, George Duke. Not had one of these for some considerable time, the very wear-prone cover has a little wear, and few avoid it being honest. The record very clean indeed and appearing little played with very fine sound.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: a single unlaminated format, made with soft thin card that has textured surfaces. Printed and made in England by Upton, includes the plain white unlined inner sleeve.

Cover Front: Most of any wear is fairly light edge rubbing, this mostly near the top. Any creasing light and fine and only a gentle trace of rim impression. This is a cover that often suffers severe ringwear and sticker damage, which this one has avoided. The artwork fresh and clean with excellent deep colour, the textured surface avoiding speckle (spot rubbing to the raised textured dots).

Cover Back: The back has a little more wear, but in context for this unforgiving cover, only quite light. Gentle rim rubbing, mainly near the left edge, the odd light crease and mild speckle near the edges. Finding this cover with no wear is near impossible these days. Overall, both the main faces are quite impressive.

Top Edge: Made thin, but this is still straight but has moderate rubbing.

Bottom Edge: As above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, quite sharp with any thickening or burring only mild and light as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way.

Spine and Text: Mainly solid and quite straight. A little mild compression in places, the ends are quite deeply pinched in manufacture. Just one fine crease and all the text (possibly against the odds) intact and present. I have seen some of these in the past totally threadbare and eroded. So this fragile edge has survived well.

Corners: Clearly these are delicate as well, so moderate rubbing is no surprise to match the edges. Fine shape largely retained.

Cover Summary: Originals textured examples of this cover are well-known to collectors as being fragile. The card is incredibly thin and bends incredibly easily, so always hold this one in both hands. Given all the facts, this is a very fine example – no, not perfect, few ever will be – but still attractive and it will please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): a plain solid white unlined solid inner that has only very gently aged with mild discolouration. Barely any creasing and no edge splits or repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR EXCELLENT / EXCELLENT: a very fine visual copy that is very clean with fine shine and solidly pressed on qulaity EMI vinyl. A few light and fine surface marks mostly on side one, but most-all superfical and barely any audio affect. Mostly surface hairlines seen under bright angled light that few records of this considerable age will avoid as a bare minimum. Visually a lovely record that should please many collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This quite elusive original plays for most-all above it’s visual grading with very little to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal, this being a complex and challenging album with some quiet passages. So the odd sporadic tick or crackle trace is near impossible to avoid in its entirety. Electric violin is one of the toughest challenges for tracking and only copies lightly played on quality equipment have any chance to survive today to offer the best sound possible. Few available copies will better this significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played quite lightly and has been generally carefully handled. I consider this album essential for Frank Zappa fans, his music explored with a high quality band and a shame it was not followed-up with others. Like the cover, not pristine, but still an impressive 1969 record that will please many collectors again, it merits high recommendation.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Blue moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is minuscule in over 14 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.